Hungry for Adventurez

  The Cathedral at Meow Wolf - Convergence Station Back in May I had the opportunity to visit Meow Wolf Denver - Convergence Station. This turned out to be a highlight of our trip, and I can not recommend it enough. That being said, the experience itself is a little hard to explain, and I thought it would be worth going into detail about what to expect at this artsy, kaleidoscopic experience. What Is Meow Wolf?  As an organization, Meow Wolf is very similar to an art museum or artists collective. It operates several locations around the US, including Convergence Station in Denver.  Each location is filled to the brim with installation art that can be described as trippy, nostalgic and whimsical. Each Meow wolf location has a separate theme or storyline which connects each room or art piece.  However, most guests moving through a Meow Wolf exhibit won’t feel like they are in a modern art museum at all. I think it feels more like an escape room, minus the time limit an...

IOverlander is a free, crowd-sourced app designed for roadtrippers, RVers and Car campers. I have recently started to use it to plan out my weekend adventures in Iowa, and find free places to stay overnight. Lately I have been camping solo almost every weekend. While campgrounds are much cheaper than hotels, I have been starting to wonder if I can illuminate the cost and hassle of staying at the more popular campgrounds. (If you want to learn more about ultra low budget travel, read this !) Plus, in the busy summer season, sometimes the popular campgrounds, like Makokita cave and Backbone State Parks are completely booked. iOverlander helps provide some great options to explore a little differently.  How the iOverlander app works  iOverlander is a crowd-sourced app. That means that anybody can log a pin in the app and leave notes on the quality and type of location. People who visit a place later can also add check-ins with pictures and notes to help future travelers. If you a...

Aldi is my absolute favorite grocery store, especially for cheap and lazy camping food. It’s easy to put together shelf stable meals that are actually pretty healthy and require almost no prep work. As an added bonus, Aldi also has decent outdoors equipment in the “Aldi Finds” aisle, but we will save that for a different post. For this post I will be assuming you have a camp stove , such as a jet boil, available.  Lazy Camping Food #1: Favorite Cheese, Fruit, and Crackers No cooking necessary, yet somehow super luxurious. I like to get a wheel of Cammebert or Brie, which I slice up and eat cold with strawberries, peaches or apples, and a sleeve of crackers. It's perfect for a mid hike meal or snack. It's the ultimate lazy food, but also kind of feels luxurious. Plus, rich cheeses are a great food for when you are are on longer, active trips. This is because cheese contains calorie-dense fats.  Camembert cheese, 7 oz: $4.19 Strawberries, 1 lb: $2.19 Crackers, 7 oz: $2.55 (...

 I recently visited Yellow River State Forest and stayed at Little Paint Campground. This park is expansive, more so than any Iowa State Park or forest I have visited so far. Let's talk about what activities are available here, and who should pay Yellow River State Forest a visit.  The view from the lookout point near the fire tower The Layout of Yellow River State Forest By Iowa standards, Yellow River State Forest is a massive park. It is north of Marquette and south of Harper’s Ferry. Combined with neighboring Effigy Mounds National Monument, Pikes Peak State Park, and Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, the area is an unofficial national park (in my opinion).  Yellow River State Forest is not one contiguous park. It is made of several smaller units. The largest one is called the Paint Creek Unit, which has multiple campgrounds.  The main road of Paint Creek is State Forest Road. It offers some fantastic views as you drive through the park....

Due to price hikes the last few years, even the cheapest Disney resort vacation is now out of reach for a lot of households. Depending on what kind of deals and hotel you get, a family of 4 could fly to Europe for the same price as staying at an on property Disney world resort. Disney has also removed discounts in the last 3 years. As a theme park lover myself, I understand why people go anyway. Disney provides a special, uncompilable experience. However, it isn’t really a realistic destination for me to plan for anymore. Let's take a serious look at what makes Disney so appealing, so that few can find the best alternatives at an even better price. For the purposes of this article, I will specifically be using Disney World, Florida to give examples of prices and amenities.  Why Does Even the Cheapest Disney Resort Vacation Have “Disney Magic”?  Attention to Detail and Exceptional service It seems that no matter how expensive hotels and tickets get, some people are still willin...

During the winter, I wrote down my predictions on what might change at Lost Island Theme Park , as they aim to make a more competitive experience. A lot of my predictions came true, such as character interactions and improved foliage. In this article, I break down some of the biggest changes in 2023.  Background on Lost Island Theme Park Lost Island Theme Park is a project run by the Bertch family, who also own Lost island Waterpark in Waterloo, Iowa. The park opened in 2022, and while offering some great rides and experiences, hasn’t had great crowds yet. The Park is themed around the balance of the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water, as well as the fifth element of spirit. Each element has its own “land” with a unique story related to keeping the balance.  New Rides At Lost Island Theme Park Two new rides have opened up! Honestly, I think these might be my favorite. New Launch Coaster First we have Matugani, a short but very fast launch coaster. This thing gets so...

Have you ever wished you could see a real paleontology site? Have you ever wondered what fossil footprints look like when they are found by scientists? On a trip to Colorado a few weeks ago on Amtrak , I got to visit Dinosaur Ridge in Morrison, Colorado. Dinosaur Ridge is a museum, active paleontology site, and nature area all in one! We had a great time, and I wanted to share some information about the trip so you can incorporate it into your next trip in the west. The organization that manages Dinosaur Ridge is very active in the community, and also manages an active paleontology program. So, if you have the time and budget, please support them!  Where is Dinosaur Ridge, and how long should I plan to be there? Dinosaur Ridge in Morrison, Colorado, just outside of Denver, not far from Red Rocks Amphitheater and Green Mountain. It only takes a little less than 2 hours to complete the self guided tour and museum, assuming you do everything. Because it doesn’t take very long, it's p...

My boyfriend and I have wanted to travel from Iowa to Colorado on the California Zephyr for a while. However, we discovered that we could only afford Amtrak coach seats, and not a roomette. We decided to take the rail trip anyway and see how it went. We came back about a week ago, and I have plenty of info to share about sleeping in Amtrak coach seats! Our Amtrak route and itinerary Since we live in Iowa, the California Zephyr is the most accessible rail route. This Amtrak route goes from Chicago to San Francisco, California. It stops along the way at large and small stations alike, including Omaha, Lincoln, Denver, and Salt Lake City. For our trip, we boarded at a small station in Osceola, Iowa, and deboarded in Denver’s Union Station. We took Amtrak home using the same stations, also in coach seats. Both trains that we took had sleeper cars at the front of the train, then the dining car, then next the observation deck/café car, and the coach cars at the end.  What is the differe...

If you hate cleaning dishes on vacation, you aren’t the only one. Plus,  ice is a hassle you don’t really need to bother with. These four recipes are far better than the typical ramen or plain instant backpacking foods, and pack a surprising amount of fruit and vegetables. These one pot camping meals (no refrigeration required!) are perfect for your next overnight adventure. One Pot Greek Pasta Salad Dinner for travel on day one of camping I usually make a big batch of this, or something similar, ahead of time to eat on Friday night after we drive to the campsite. It's very filling and the feta and veggies hold up well for a few hours on the road. I don’t do exact measurements when I’m cooking, so feel free to adjust ratios how you like them. If you would like to exclude the cheese, follow food safety for longer journeys, try adding in sun dried tomatoes and black olives for flavor and richness.  Ingredients: Broccoli florets Pasta shells, elbow macaroni, or bowtie pasta Crum...